Every few years, the world is reminded how slippery ice is when several contestants in speed skating at the Winter Olympics wipe out and go skidding into the wall of the ice rink. The bottom line is that the skate slipped sideways on the ice and sent the skater sprawling. A more technical analysis is that the skate blade formed an angle with the surface of the ice which was too severe, taking into consideration the mass of the skater, the speed going into the turn, and the position of the skater's center of gravity, so that the coefficient of lateral sliding friction of the skate blade relative to the ice was insufficient to maintain the skater erect resulting in a fall.
In a separate venue, ice hockey players also battle the slipperiness of the ice. Most notably, when sprinting to/with the puck on a breakaway, for example, the player will roll her/his ankles in, laying the blade toward flat in order to dig the blades into the ice, so that s/he can push outwardly and back in an attempt to out sprint her/his opponent to the puck or goal. This attempt to increase traction for sprinting can actually result in slipping should the player be unsuccessful in sticking the blade deeply enough into the ice.
The present invention seeks to provide a remedy for this slippage. The ice skates of the present invention comprise a pair of skate blade assemblies, each assembly including a blade support to which a primary blade and a pair of secondary blades are attached, the primary blade having a first mean blade thickness and a first height, first and second secondary blades which each have a second mean blade thickness substantially equal to said first mean blade thickness, said first and second secondary blades each extending angularly outwardly from opposing sides of said primary blade at first and second predetermined angles; means to attach a pair of said blade assemblies to right and left feet of a wearer, respectively; whereby when one of said primary blades of said pair is in contact with and extends at a third or fourth predetermined angle with an ice surface, either said first or said second secondary blade will come in contact with said ice surface and provide auxiliary support, significantly reducing a risk of falling as a result of said primary blade slipping laterally on the ice surface. The preferred value for each of the first, second, third and fourth predetermined angles is 45.degree., such that when the skater's primary blade is at 45.degree. with the ice and s/he would be at risk of losing sufficient frictional force to remain upright, the secondary blade will a) be vertical, in optimum position to support the skater's weight, b) provide additional resistance to lateral slippage, and thereby, c) avoid a spill. Further, for the hockey player, having two blades on each skate which can dig into the ice in a sprint situation will provide a decided advantage over a single blade skater.
While the design is simplified by having the secondary blades extend at equal 45.degree. angles, some applications may dictate that the inner secondary blade engage the ice at a different angle than the outer secondary blade. For example, on the hockey skate, it may be advantageous to position the inner secondary blade in such a manner that it will engage the ice at an angle of 30.degree. so that the skater need not roll her/his ankles in so far in order to get two blade engagement during a scramble for the puck. The outer secondary blade could remain at the 45.degree. position for stability purposes. The inner blade could be made to engage the ice at an angle of 30.degree. by changing the angle it forms with the primary blade to 30.degree. and/or extending its length.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.